Surviving in a Carnivore World

Peach Gazpacho with Heirloom Tomatoes – “Clean Start”

Here is a gazpacho that will make your taste buds sing! I know because I inhaled 2 bowls of this stuff before Patton even finished his first…Good thing we’re married and not on our first date when I made this….I don’t think my eating habits with this gazpacho would’ve enticed him to stick around and see what else I had to offer….But I can offer YOU this AMAZING recipe, courtesy of Terry Walters book “CLEAN START”.

The next time you head to the market for some tomatoes, don’t go for the perfectly shaped boring red ones….go for the heirlooms! Get crazy, be bold! You won’t regret it! They come in a variety of shapes, colors, and tastes. And, they make it way more fun to photograph than the regular tomatoes!

Ingredients:

1/2 small red onion

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded

3 cups coarsely chopped heirloom tomatoes, any variety

3 cups chopped peaches, pitted, not peeled

1 jalapeno, seeded

1/2 cup chopped basil

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (if you know me, you know I used WAY more than that :)

1 tablespoon lime juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Directions:

* I strayed a bit from the original directions because I remember a suggestion my friend, Chef Adrienne Terzuoli suggested with a prior gazpacho recipe…to make it thick like a salsa :)

Chop the onion, pepper, tomatoes, and peaches into large chunks and put into a bowl. With the food processor running, drop in jalapeno and process until minced. Add onion and process on pulse to coarsely chop. The book says to repeat with the bell pepper, tomatoes, and finally peaches. I skipped this step and just mixed the jalapeno and onion mixture with the peppers, tomatoes, peaches, basil, and tarragon by hand.

Stir in Olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and let sit for 15 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Terry recommends not refrigerating during this step. I noticed this makes about 4 bowls, so if you happen to have leftovers (we barely did), I can tell you, I liked the refrigerated version better the following day…The different flavors really seemed to come together.

A few last things…this recipe introduced me to tarragon. I had no idea what it was prior to this. Its an herb that smells and tastes similar to black licorice. I’ve always been a hater of black licorice, but the herb surprised me. The flavor really compliments the rest of the flavors. I’ll warn you to go easy on the amount…it has a very dominant taste. That being said, has anyone used tarragon for other vegan recipes? I have a lot left and I’d like to use it for something.

Heirloom tomatoes, or any tomato for that matter is SO good for your skin. It actually acts as a natural SPF, gives your skin a nice healthy glow, and aids in the prevention of some types of cancers. So go treat your body to some lycopene!

Lastly, I’m loving the “CLEAN START” recipe book….I’ve peeked ahead and did a recon on the fall recipes and it looks promising, but I’m not quite ready to wish summer away just yet! If you’d like to borrow my book, let me know…but be warned, I like to make notes on everything I make, and I expect you to do the same in my book too :)